After the glaciers that carved the Great Lakes melted away – leaving water, moraines and an abundance of sand – waves pushed sand to shore and winds blew it into dunes. Prevailing westerly winds gave Michigan the advantage, but you can admire or take a challenging hike among these majestic mounds in many places along Lake Michigan and even on Lake Superior. Here are just a few to lock into your list of must-sees:
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
1. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
EMPIRE, MICHIGAN
With more than 1.5 million annual visitors, this is the star of the Midwest version of Dune. The beach dunes can surpass 100 feet in height, but the park’s rare perched dunes – those sitting on top of glacial moraines – rise up over 450 feet above their surroundings.
These are active dunes, still moving with the wind about 4 feet each year. Take the 7.4-mile park drive with its scenic stops, including the Lake Michigan Overlook, and picnic areas. Wanna climb? Don’t descend from overlooks. Go to the designated Dune Climb where you can start from the Dune Center at the bottom to reach a view of Glen Lake. You can keep going to see Lake Michigan, but be warned, that trip can take over three hours!
2. Grand Sable Banks & Dunes
GRAND MARAIS, MICHIGAN
At the east end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s U.P., the 5 miles of perched dunes here tower 300 feet above the Lake Superior shore. A historic log slide – where lumberjacks once sent timber down to ships – features a viewing platform and an opening in the vegetation to get the best views of the dunes and a shoreline that recalls the Caribbean.
3. Indiana Dunes
PORTER, INDIANA
A state park and a national park of the same name combine for 25 miles of shoreline and 17,000 acres with a wide assortment of ecosystems and four dune complexes. Dunes along the shore are still active. Stabilized dunes farther inland were formed by much higher lake levels. Take the 3 Dune Challenge, totaling 1.5 miles of trail combining sand and steps for a vertical gain of 552 feet.
4. Kohler-Andrae State Park
SHEBOYGAN
The 2-mile Dunes Cordwalk (boards laid in the sand) follows right through Wisconsin’s most exposed dunes, departing north and south from the Sanderling Visitor Center and its rooftop observation deck. Learn more about the glacial lakes that predated Lake Michigan, and even see some of the shoreline of predecessor, Glacial Lake Nipissing.
- Don’t underestimate the difficulty of hiking on loose sand, especially uphill at an angle of as much as 34 degrees! If you start from a drive-up overlook at the top, you can run down in minutes, but your return climb can take more than an hour, with your feet sliding backwards and footwear filling with sand.
- Look for a starting point at the bottom, such as a beach access, and then you’ll do the hardest part first and let gravity help you back down.
- Don’t even think of doing this barefoot. Sand gets hot, so wear shoes; athletic sandals are best. Pack sunscreen, a hat and water. Heat stroke is a serious threat as temps can rise to triple digits on the sand.
- Don’t step on any vegetation. It prevents erosion.
